Eat Your Heart Out, Silly
by Kierra Kayy
Summary: Lorelai drops Rory off for her first real job and drives past a campsite on her way home seeing a familiar green truck parked in front. She gets curious and explores. Rory starts on the campaign trail, meeting a new guy but never without running into a few old. L L, R J, starts in the middle of the 7th season.
1. Buses, Mud and an Old Flame

Hey guys. Haven't written a story in a very, very long time, but decided I really wanted to give it a shot. Everyday I watch Gilmore and everyday I get so frustrated with how the show ended. Although ASP never got the ending she wanted, the ending they gave us was absolutely NOT okay. So, I decided I needed to write my version of how I saw the show going and maybe one day, in my wildest dreams, ASP will say _Hey, lets do a movie and hey lets do it like this fan fic. _Likely story, but a girl can dream. Perhaps my last four words of the story will be the same as she's always wanted them to be?

This takes place in season 7 when Lorelai and Chris are still barley married (gag), after Lorelai has written the character reference to the court about the great person Luke Danes is. In my own turn of events, Rory has already graduated but there was never a party thrown, never a hero Luke…yet. Rory is, however, still headed on the campaign trail.

To sum it up, Lor and Chris still together, Lorelai wrote the letter, Rory said no to Logan, graduated and is headed on the road.

Take One, Action:

. …. …b… ….

**Buses, Mud and an Old Flame**

"And, you're sure you got your ball point pens, because I know how you feel about ball point pens. Something about the ball and the point that makes the ink flow faster and less smudge-"

"-Mom, I've got the pens. I've got the thousands of road travel books for dummies you bought me. I have the very serious Obama's my homeboy t-shirt you insisted upon printing for me and I have the house number, Dragonfly number, cell phone number, Sookie's number, Jackson's number, dad's cell and house and work, al's pancake world's number and every number you can think of in my speed dial. I promise, I'll be fine," Rory said, turning to face her mom in the very cramped jeep.

They were parked in front of Hartford's Bus Depot, in front of an oversized charter bus painted blue. Rain fell gently from the early afternoon sky, as Rory was about to take the first steps in her Journalism career and her first steps away from home.

"Okay," Lorelai replied with a sad smile, "I know you're gonna rock this campaign. And if all else fails, remember, blame Nixon."

"I will," Rory said with a smile, "I'll call a lot. A lot a lot."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Call me when you run into a Lewinsky situation and I'll be there to help ward off the balding old men with my charm."

Rory rolled her eyes childishly while sticking her arms out for her mother to embrace.

"I'm gonna miss ya kid."

"I know, I know. Just make sure to show Paul Anka my picture everyday, I don't want him getting upset," Rory said, letting go of her mothers embrace and slowly pushing open her door, "Just don't think about it too much. I'll be back before you can sell embarrassing photos of me to the press."

"We'll, you'd have to be back by tomorrow then, mail's out for the day sorry," Lorelai yelled, leaning forward to watch Rory walk away.

"Bye Mom!" Rory laughed as she slung her oversized duffle bag over her shoulder and turned the corner of the bus. She was gone. Her baby was gone, at least for a while this time.

. ….. . …. …b… …

It felt right this time, Rory leaving and all. It felt right for her to go be her own person.

As Lorelai drove through the winding side roads back from Hartford, she found herself thinking a whirlwind of thoughts. She didn't want to go home to Christopher, where an unspoken tension constantly haunted over her.

She wondered if Chris felt it too.

It was right. The right thing to do, being with him and all. It was right and she knew it was right. He knew it was right, her parents knew it was right,

But, it never felt right.

The light rain picked up a bit as she slowly curved the car left and right around bends in the roads. The sky splayed a chic color of gray and purple as dusk settled in. Her windshield wipers were in full force when she passed a parked green truck with a perfectly pitched tent in the near distance.

Could it?

Nah, it couldn't be. Why would he be out _here, _at a time like _now_ when the weather was bad? Surely he would have checked the weather if he had decided to go camping.

But, what if it was one of those flash flood things that even perfectly shaped weatherpeople couldn't predict?

Lorelai squinted as she slowly drove by but shook her head in disagreement. Nah, that's not him.

She drove a few more feet down the road as her the wheels in her head turned.

Wait, that was definitely his truck, his tent, his fishing poles in the back.

Subconsciously, Lorelai found herself making a U-turn in the middle of the narrow road, pulling up to the shoulder and parking across from the campsite.

She stared out of her window for a few minutes, looking hastily around for anyone to show their face. But, it didn't seem like there was any movement.

There was, however, a dim light shining out of the tent.

She didn't know why opened her car door in the pouring rain, and stepped out to cross the street. She didn't know why she made they U-turn in the first place. But, she had to see.

It was bad weather, strong winds. He could be hurt. Or hungry. His burgers wouldn't do too well in this kind of weather. As she crept up to the campsite juggling her oversized pink-polka dotted umbrella, she knew what she was getting herself into.

Her feet ruffled against the leaves on the ground as she peered around the corner of the truck, where the lone blue and gray tent sat restlessly in the stormy winds.

"Hello?" she said concerningly.

"Who is that?" Luke said in a dangerously eerie voice, "Don't come inside! I have a knife."

"No, Luke, it's me. Lorelai…" she said hopefully, waiting for a response as water blew past the protection of the polka dots and into her face. She carefully tried to wipe them away with the edge of her sleeves as she started to shiver from the bitterness of the rain. It was May, but the cold seemed to linger this spring.

"Lorelai?" Luke said, quickly pushing himself up from his lazy position on the tent floor. He unzipped the oval door flap and stepped out onto the pavement, quickly zipping the tent up to keep it dry. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, just happened to be taking one of my spur-of-the-moment typhoon strolls through the deserted forest and happen to see your truck!" she said sarcastically, with her stunning Lorelai smile.

"Seriously, what are you doing here?" Luke said, trying to huddle under her umbrella to keep from the bitter rain. She couldn't tell if he was happy or pissed.

"I was dropping Rory off at the bus station. Today's her first day on the campaign trail. My little girl's rolling with the big boys," Lorelai answered biting her lip with a nervous chuckle at the end. It seemed like no matter where, when, or what the circumstances were, she always felt those butterflies in her stomach when she talked to him.

"Oh, right, I heard about that. Babette mentioned something about going on a tour with O'rama's or Obama's or some guy who's name started with an 'O' at the diner and April got all excited because she's unusually into politics for a 13-year-old and started ranting on her Hilary Clinton speech and, well, you can imagine where it went from there-do you want to…" he smiled as he gestured to his tent, inviting her away from the horrible weather.

She nodded silently, following him through the small entrance and threw her umbrella outside the tent. He zippered it up as she glanced around.

Rugged plaid sleeping bags covered the floor of the tent, while a small lamp lit up the space in the back corner. A few magazines were scattered about on top of his beat-up duffle bag in the corner. _He's not using the one Anna gave him, interesting._

There was an open bag of salt and pepper potato chips and heap of blankets next to a small radio.

"Wow, when they say bachelor pad, they really mean it." Lorelai said looking around, squatting down to take a seat on a sleeping bag. The tent really wasn't tall enough for either one of them to stand. She took off her muddy boots and placed them carefully in the front corner, her white socks damp from the rain.

"Yeah, well, it's just me and good old mother nature out here tonight," Luke answered, awkwardly crouching into the opposite corner, trying to tidy up, "So, really, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I decided to take the long way home, you know, the scenic route, and I thought I saw your truck and well, here I am. I wanted to make sure you weren't killed and eaten by a pack of antelopes or scorpions yet."

"Antelopes, huh? Well, yeah, no antelopes here," Luke laughed again, nervously. He turned around to face her and took a seat on the other side of the sleeping bag, also removing his shoes, "Do you want something to eat? I have some stale chips or some, gum I think."

"Good combo you got going on there, no I'm fine….fine," Lorelai said, looking him directly in the eye and smiling, "I kinda just wanted to see how you were. You know, maybe get the chance to talk to you without the whole town pressing their ear up to the diner window."

"I totally get that," he said, "I'm actually really glad you're here. I've been wanting to talk to you."

"Oh, really?" Lorelai answered, intrigued, "Well I'm all ears."

"Well, I just wanted to say thank you…for the letter…I mean, it was….you were…the things you said…when you didn't even have to…it meant a lot to me. A whole lot, you saved my relationship with April, you got me the custody….I don't ever think I can thank you for-"

"-Luke," Lorelai interrupted. He looked up from the spot he was so intently focusing on the ground into her ocean filled eyes, "You're welcome. Seriously, don't mention it. I was only telling the truth."

She smiled one of the most genuine smiles he's seen from her to him in a long time.

He smirked, nodding his head in acknowledgement, all-knowing that the tension in the air was thicker than mud.

"You have no idea what you did for me, really. If there's anything I can ever do for you…I just want to..I mean…I'm…I'm sorry Lorelai."

Lorelai's faced wrinkled up in exchange for his heartfelt confession, "Sorry for what?"

She sort of laughed a little looking at his frightened face.

"Sorry for…everything. Everything that I didn't include you in with April, all the times I pushed you away. I know I've said it time and time before but I don't think it really hit me until I sat in the courtroom alone, hearing that letter. I think you know me better then I know myself….and I know you're with Christopher now and I don't want to talk about it but I was kind of hoping we could be friends, like the friends we were before I screwed up everything…"

"You didn't screw it up Luke. It just obviously wasn't meant to be, like you said before," she whispered, "Wasn't meant to be."

She shivered a little bit from the bitterness of her own comment and the bitter chill of the air outside. Rain hit the tent harder then before, filling the empty silence with patters of sounds. Luke reached behind himself and scrounged up a knitted blanket, tossing it over to her.

"Thanks," she said kindly, "and I would really like if we could be friends. You don't owe me anything Luke, for the letter or for anything else."

She wrapped the blanket slowly around her shoulders as she sat Indian style on his sleeping bag. She cozied herself into the fabric, smiling softly as she felt the warmth of the material.

"I'm glad," he said with a sigh of relief. They both stared into each other's glassy eyes for a few seconds before Lorelai realized the familiar feeling of sexual tension in the air.

"So, what are you doing out here Mr. Responsible. Didn't you check the weather before you headed out to be mountain man this time?"

"Yeah, I did, but I promised April that I would catch her some fresh trout for a project on some mercury level or something, and she needs it by the end of the weekend. I was going to bring her along but she _had_ to go to Matt Swinstien's 13th Birthday Bash instead," Luke said, grabbing a few stale chips from the bag, "I'm hoping to catch a few tomorrow when the weather is better."

"Well, that's very nice of you. You're a great dad Luke Danes," Lorelai said, still staring at him, "So, all those times I forced you to go camping and these were the living conditions? I see why you would rather go shopping now."

Luke chuckled and absentmindedly smoothed out his area of the sleeping bag, "Yeah, well, it's usually not this wet or cold. And I usually have soup but I forgot my warmer so, chips and gum it is."

"Chips and gum and trout," Lorelai laughed, "What do you do for fun out here. Roll logs? Take a dip in the creek?"

"Oh yeah, log rolling is real big, one of my favorite pastimes," Luke snided sarcastically. It was a fun and heartfelt conversation, joking and fun, just like they use to have.

A familiar ding of Lorelai's phone broke the laughter as she slid it out of the back pocket of her washed out blue jeans. She thrusted herself forward slightly to retrieve it, Luke inadvertently watching every move, and she knew it.

She looked at her phone. It was a text.

How's the dropping off going? Is our little girl in the big leagues now? Just checking up because you've been gone for a while. I'm making you a special dinner for you when you get home. Be careful in the rain. I love you.

She awkwardly smiled at the message, putting her phone back in her pocket without answering. She didn't feel like dealing with it right now. Dealing with pretending to be so grateful for him. Pretending to be in love with him. Pretending to not have eyes for anyone else. She just wanted to have a good time with her friend Luke. Friend.

It was weird for Chris to call Rory _our little girl_. He never really was Chris' little girl. He wasn't around for the little part. He was more Luke's little girl if anything.

She shook her head in distraction as she realized she was silent for almost two minutes, "Sorry," she muttered.

"S'okay," Luke replied, "Anything important?"

"No, not at all. Just, work stuff, you know these smart phones, can't get away from anyone anymore," she nervously laughed.

Luke nodded knowingly, figuring it wasn't just work that was texting her. But, if she wanted to play the game, he was going to play back.

"Well I have a pack of cards. If you can stay for a while we can, you know, play a game or something."

"Yeah, I can. Lets play a game, or something," Lorelai laughed spreading her legs out in a "V" shape to allow him to deal the cards in front of her, "Bring it on."

. …. …b… …

Rory sat poised on the empty charter bus, as she was one of the first one's there of course. She looked around at the gray leather interior. TV monitors scattered about, outlets, wi-fi connection signs. This was going to be her home for the next three months, and she couldn't believe it.

It was a nice bus, comfortable. The seats reclined, a footrest came up. She had her feather pillow by her side. And, for the first time since she broke off the best thing she had going for her, she smiled a genuine smile. She was happy.

The rain trickled down the window as the bus driver whistled a song outside, helping some people load their luggage into the bottom compartments of the bus. She smiled knowing that all of those people we're going to be her co-workers.

Her welcome bag included stickers, buttons, t-shirts, and tons of flyers. She had already put about three stickers on each notebook she owned. But it was a neon yellow piece of paper that caught her attention.

May Schedule **KEEP THIS PAPER AS A LIFELINE**

May 7th: New Haven, Yale University

May 9th: Brooklyn, Barclays Center

May 10th: Manhattan, New York University

May 12th: Newark, Society Hill Community Center

May 13th: Bridgewater, Wegmans Crossing Shopping Center

May 14th: Cherry Hill, Olga's Diner

May 15th: Scranton, University of Scranton

May 16th: Philadelphia, University of the Arts

May 17th – 20th: Days off for Bus cleaning, driver change. Conference at the Convention center in Philadelphia

May 22nd: College Park, University of Maryland

She read down the list and paused at May 16th. Philadelphia.

The last time she was in Philadelphia, she kissed Jess. And then she ran. She made a mental note not to go anywhere near Locust Street. Yeah, she was pretty sure that was the street. She couldn't deal with any more men for a while.

As her mind wondered in thoughts of Jess, poetry, Luke, April and the whole scene that night, She absentmindedly watch a few people load onto the bus. Everyone seemed pretty young, pretty nice. She smiled as a few of them walked past her, nodding. She was excited to embark on the next phase of her life.

As time went on the bus began to become more and more crowded. A young guy, maybe 23 or 24, Latino or black of some sort with beautiful caramel skin, perfect shaped eyebrows and a cute curly, short hairstyle and one of the finest tan blazers Rory's ever seen, stepped up the steps onto the bus looking around.

As he walked slowly over to the seat next to hers, placing his bag on the ground as he shrugged off his blazer and hung in carefully on a hook in front of him.

"Hey," he said, flashing her a perfectly white, straight teeth smile. Those might have been the best lips she's ever seen.

"Hey," Rory said, fixing her own blouse to scootch over for him.

"I'm Austin," he said, pushing his hand forward to her.

"Rory, um, it's nice to meet you Austin," she said, shaking his hand contently.

"You excited for the journey?" he asked, fiddling around with his bags on the floor between his feet, "It's going to be a fun ride."

"Yeah, I'm excited. A little nervous but for the most part, excited," she said.

"Well you seem very well prepared," he chuckled, pointing to her three notebooks that sat on her lap.

"Well, I don't want to miss anything, that's all."

"I assume your either press or PR?"

"Press. A journalist….I just graduated from Yale. My first big girl job," Rory smiled. She didn't know why, but she was nervously sweating.

"Yale huh? Nice. I'm a photographer, graduated Uconn two years ago," he said, picking up his camera bag and patting it like a pet, "It's my passion."

"Wow, sounds awesome. I can't wait to see some of your work."

"Vice versa," Austin said, tilting his head to her and smirking. Damn, that smile was amazing.

The bus was packed at this point, every seat taken up by a chatty politician or someone in the press as a lady with a very official looking clipboard walked on and stood at the front of the isle.

"Attention….everyone attention…welcome on the Obama campaign trail!" she said, her red hair swayed in sync with her energy.

Austin slowly turned to Rory and answered her smile.

. …. …b… ….

"Okkkkkkayyyyy, just because you kicked my ass in the first game, doesn't mean I'm not coming back with a vengeance my friend. Get ready to have your own ass kicked," Lorelai said shuffling the cards with a stern look on her face.

Her legs were still spread out in a "V" shape, the wool blanket wrapped around her small frame, half lopsided at this point.

The rain wasn't easing up and the loud sound of drops bouncing off the tent filled the air with noise. It was dark now and the crickets chirped loudly in the fields surrounding them.

Luke laid opposite her, his body laying lazily on top of the sleeping bag, sideways so he could face her. One hand rested under his head as he smirked at her comment.

"Whatever you say, butterfingers," Luke laughed.

"No, no I do not have 'butterfingers, they slipped out because its raining and the rain made my hands wet and the cards just fell…."

"You haven't been outside in an hour, your hands are not wet. Just admit you aren't good."

"Never. Now, c'mon lets go again, I'm prepared this time," Lorelai said dealing out the cards. She intently focused on the hand she dealt while Luke peered over his cards to stare at her. She was beautiful, her hair in perfect ringlet curls from the humid rain. Her eyes matching the bluest of blues and her blouse unbuttoned just low enough for him to catch a glimpse. Boy, did he miss staring at her.

He shook himself out of it and got back in the game. She played a card, he played a card.

"SPIT!" she called out.

"Spit," he said excitedly as they both hit the pile at the same time. Her hand lay on top of the pile while his warm, muscular grip covered her cold fingers in one heap of tension.

Neither one moved their hands from the pile, but looked up at each other with eyes of so many words.

Lorelai slowly took her hand back as Luke gently grabbed it and laced his fingers through hers, studying her pink nail polish and gleaming wedding ring. _Fuck. That should be my ring. _His heart sank into his stomach completely.

Lorelai stared deeper into his eyes, searching for some kind of explanation. His hand felt amazing, just as she remembered it. And, she was pretty sure her heart was racing five miles a minute.

He didn't know what he was doing. Hell, he didn't know what he was doing in life anymore. All he knew is that Lorelai Gilmore made him happy. And he hadn't been happy in six months, four days, sixteen hours and twenty-five minutes.

Luke slowly leaned forward, stopping inches away from Lorelai's face. She could feel his rugged breath on her chest and somehow she became paralyzed as he brushed a stray piece of curled hair behind her ear. His hand stopped on her rosy cheek, cupping it as if it was the most prized possession he's ever owned. As his thumb moved down to stroke her chin, he slowly tilted her head up and took her mouth on his.

It was slow, so slow in fact it seemed like his lips were glued to that first kiss. Neither one of them wanted to move. Lorelai's eyes remained closed in jumbled thoughts she couldn't put together, her hands staying firmly on the ground to support herself.

He broke off the kiss, keeping his nose on top of hers, his eyes now closed in passion. He grabbed the edges of the blanket wrapped around her and pulled tightly, until she was forced to move her arms around his waste for balance. As he held onto the blanket, he slowly put his lips on hers once more, harder this time. With every emotion pouring out, he traced his tongue around her lips as a small moan escaped.

He couldn't hold himself together anymore; he wanted her here, now. Forever. His heavy body was now fully leaning against hers, her back arching as he attempted to lay her down on the cold blankets beneath them.

Lorelai began to loosen up, letting her mouth welcome his tongue.

Luke slowly moved his solid hands to her back for support as Lorelai quickly turned her head away, shoving him back to a sitting position.

"Luke, no, don't," she yelled, painfully out of breath, "Please….stop."

Luke felt like a puppy that had been hit with thousands of rolled up newspapers at the same time. His heart sank even further into his gut.

She was astounding with her hair awry, her pink cheeks a seductive shade of rose. He wanted her so badly that his heart physically hurt.

"We can't do this Luke. We can't. I'm married, Luke, married. And this is cheating," she said, her eyes welling up with tears.

He had nothing to say. She was right. Those were the facts and he honestly didn't give a damn.

He stared at her glossy eyes, at a loss for words. _Go with what you didn't do before. Be honest._

"Lorelai," he said in almost a cry, "You're beautiful."

That was enough to invite the first tear out of her eyes. She grasped the blanket closer to her, like it would protect her from everything she felt. She had no idea how to respond to that. His words dug deeper in her heart then anything ever had before.

Luke watched as the small teardrop made its way down her face and to the cold ground, joining all the other raindrops falling from the sky. He shook his head. All he wanted to do was hold her.

"I'm sorry, Lorelai, I'm really, really am sorry…."

"-No Luke, you don't just get to kiss me like that and tell me I'm beautiful and say sorry and think that everything is going to be okay. I'm married, I've moved on, God Luke you had your chance. You had multiple chances and still I can't get over you…I have to get over you" she said, sobbing softly.

He watched as she ranted, her face wrinkling in anger and frustration and love. He knew she loved him.

"Lorelai…"

She wiped her tears on her sleeved as she avoided eye contact with him, debating if she should just make a run or burrow a hole deep underground.

"Lorelai…that letter you wrote me is the most heartfelt, real thing I have ever heard in my entire life. It's true love. You know it and I certainly know it. It's been hell day in and day out without you in my life. You are a part of me that I don't understand but I love so much and it's like that part of me is empty and I'm just walking around everyday with a big hole in my heart. And I know I didn't tell you any of this when we were together but that's because I was a fucking idiot and didn't realize…anything…and I just…I can't do it without you anymore. I can't be if I'm not being with you."

He talked with such force, speaking a mile a minute as if his brain couldn't keep up with his heart. He held onto her leg that was stretched out in front of him, hoping some contact would ease her up a bit.

She looked up at him, shyly, tears staining her entire face.

"Luke, I can't do this right now. I can't. I'm sorry," she said softly, sniffling in between words.

She pushed herself off the ground, grabbing her shoes and slipping them on quickly. Her movements were ghostlike, not wanting to disturb anything around her.

Luke sat, stilly, staring straight ahead as she stood up completely and let the blanket slide off of her back. Without any umbrella, she unzipped the opening to the tent and stepped outside into the pouring rain, whispering a choked up _bye _in the process.

He could hear her footsteps crunching through the leaves on the damp ground as she walked across the street to her car. He slowly lowered his head into his hands, pulling at the ends of his hair roughly to punish himself for being such a screw up.

Lorelai walked away from the tent, letting the tears that wanted to come out so badly fall, blurring her eyes as she crossed the street. The rain soaked her white blouse through, fully exposing her lacy coral bra to the world. But she didn't care. Didn't care about being soaking wet, or about being cold, or about being anything. She was sad.

Ruefully, she reached the front of her jeep, leaning on the front of it to look out into the rain. She didn't want to get in just yet. Instead she leant back, watching the trees while letting her tears and sobs be muffled by Mother Nature.

After a few minutes of not hearing a door closing or an engine starting, Luke grabbed his shoes and stepped outside the tent. He spotted her across the street, lazily wiping her nose and her eyes, leaning on the front of her car.

He couldn't take seeing her hurt like that. Especially knowing he was the one causing the hurt.

So, he dashed across the street, approaching her carefully as she turned her head the other way to avoid him.

"What are you still doing out here its pouring and freezing and you're soaked…"

"I'm fine," Lorelai said, biting her lip to stop her from crying uncontrollably, "Just didn't feel like driving yet."

The rain dripped quickly down Luke's face as he took off his baseball cap and placed it on top of her jeep. He ran his hands through his hair, slicking it back. He tried to look her straight in the face, tilting to the left, where she kept her head turned.

She was still biting her lip, hard. And he knew she wanted to let it all out. He reached out, pulling her close to him, wrapping his damp flannel arms around her tightly as she buried her face into his chest and started crying.

He let her. For a few minutes, he let her be her. And that was exactly what she needed.

He stood still, his arms in a bear hug as she let her head rest quietly on his chest. Nobody said anything. His heat warmed up her shivering and wet body and just like she always knew, this is where she belonged.

After a few minutes, he ended the embrace, slowly bringing her back to her feet and leaning her back up against the jeep. He couldn't help but stare at her swollen breasts, now fully exposed through the sheerness of her blouse. This time, she looked up at him, eyes red and glossy, hair a curly matted mess.

He carefully placed both of his hands on her cheeks, pushing them back to remove the hair from her face. He twisted both sides into a loose ponytail, exposing her neck and her chest.

As he pulled lightly on her hair, Luke lowered his lips to her neck, leaving a trail of kisses from her collarbone up over her cheek. Each kiss was warm and soft, almost too fragile to feel.

She closed her eyes slowly, tilting her head back to give him more room. Her cheeks flushed a bright shade of red by this point, as he made his way over to his lips, leaving a lingering salty kiss that lasted an eternity.

He stepped back, against every fiber of his being, and let her hair fall down across her shoulders again, "Be careful driving home okay?"

She looked at him, empty, as he grabbed his hat and walked away. His hung his head low as he lazily dragged his feet along with no life left in him.

Slowly stepping into his tent, Luke took off his shoes, unbuttoned his shirt and slid the flannel off his shoulders. Stripping off his white tee, jeans and socks he threw them in a stray plastic bag, grabbing a new pair of boxers and sweatpants and a towel to dry his hair. It was getting late and he was emotionally exhausted. He didn't want to think about anything.

He remained shirtless, abs flexing in the dim light of the tent. Luke carefully pulled back the cover to his sleeping bag, slipping in and fluffing his pillow under his head. As he hastily yanked the thick comforter over his body, he looked over at the empty space next to him. He could smell her vanilla perfume lingering on the blanket and he sighed one of the loudest sighs he ever had.

Lorelai watched as the light in his tent went off, slowly stepping into her car, shivering. As she blasted the heat, she rubbed her head soothingly to ease the nauseating headache that she felt. It was time to go home and she would rather do anything else but.

. …. …b… ….

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	2. It's as Simple as That

Thanks for all of the reviews and follows! I appreciate it! Keep reviewing and enjoy!

**It's as Simple as That.**

bb…b…..bbbb…..bbb…..bbbb…b

It smelled like peas.

Peas and some kind of gravy. Lorelai caught a giant weft of a home cooked meal as she stood solemnly on her front porch, not wanting to go in. But, after being cold and wet all she wanted was a hot bath, alone.

She sighed quietly as she pushed open the front door, slipping off her boots onto the brand new rubber mat Chris has just bought. She missed her old, beat up welcome mat. Her old beat up television set. Her old beat up oven that didn't work.

"You're back!" Chris said excitedly, turning the corner from the kitchen and meeting her in the doorway, "Oh my God Lor, what happened to you?"

"Nothing, I'm fine. Really, I really just want to get out of these clothes," she said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek to reassure him as she walked past him into the living room.

"Whoa whoa whoa, You aren't 'fine'…. you're soaking wet. You're eyes are bloodshot, what the hell happened?"

"Nothing-," Lorelai said stubbornly, "It's just…I just, got a little emotional watching Rory get on the bus," she lied, turning to the bottom stairs.

Chris walked over to her, placing a hand on her back, "Oh, okay. I mean, it's understandable. You're sad she's leaving I totally get it. Why are you soaking wet?"

"Um, I wanted to wait outside until she was completely gone. It's kind of a me and her thing, I don't think you'd understand," she said coldly, turning around to face him. She really didn't feel like talking to anyone.

"No, no I understand. This is the first time she's going to be away from you for a long period of time. You guys are each other's lifeline, trust me Lor, I understand. But, don't worry," he said, leading her back down the bottom stairs and wrapping his hand around hers, "She's going to do amazing. Better than amazing, she might even be elected president instead," he chuckled.

Of course she would be amazing. She knew that, without a doubt, yet the lies poured out, faster then she could even process.

"I know, I know," Lorelai said sadly.

"C'mon I made you an awesome dinner. Meatloaf and tatertots. I even threw in a few peas to be healthy," he smiled leading her to the kitchen. "Gigi, c'mon time for dinner!"

"Coming!" a little voice screamed from the other side of the door.

"See, this will take your mind off of Rory for a good while," he said, standing behind Lorelai as he tightly wrapped his hands around her neck. He gave her a wet kiss on the back of her head as he held her there, cherishing every bit of her.

She squirmed uncomfortable under his grasp just thinking about Luke's warm embrace an hour before, "Yeah. My mind off of Rory…" she trailed off, looking up at him with a forced smile.

It had been a few days into the campaign life for Rory and she was loving every second of it. Their first stop had been at Yale, which was, of course, amazing. She still had a few friends there on the paper that she got to have dinner with.

Everyone seemed to be getting along fine. Already, she had stacks of business cards and contacts. From photographers to writers to personal assistants to bus drivers, she was introduced to a whole new world that wasn't the bowl of rich trust fund kids she sunk into at Yale.

She had taken a particular liking to Austin. His grungy yet standup image, his breathtaking smile, his ability to make a good political joke. It was all very different to her- he was more of an inner city, grounded and street-smart kid who was brilliant both in art and in…life.

Her hair wasn't very well washed and she was pretty sure she smelled okay, but she could tell the bus thing really wasn't going to fly for too much longer. She was actually looking forward to her break in Philadelphia.

"Watch out," Austin said, bumping her out of the way playfully as he knelt on one leg to line up his lens, "Thanks."

She laughed and moved aside looking out onto the skyline of buildings in front of them, "Really. A skyline shot? Couldn't come up with anything better than that?" She loved challenging him.

He snapped a few dozen pics in silence, only the sound of his camera clicking away as he turned it horizontal and vertical, sideways and upside-down.

"Look," he said, standing upright smiling at her as he pressed the view button on his camera. He brought up an image of the skyline, with young girl, maybe 10 or so, walking her dog with her back to the camera. On her backpack was an Obama sticker, plastered smack dab in the middle of the pink and purple cotton candy colors. The girl looked down at her dog as the dog looked up at the skyline. It was more than brilliant.

"Wow, yet again I make a total idiot out of myself because I completely missed that," she laughed nervously.

" Wow. I made the writer speechless," he laughed, turning to face her as he put his lens back on his camera.

"Well, not speechless. I mean, I could easily write about this moment. You know, paint a picture, take a snapshot with words. I'm just not as observant as you are," she said with a little sarcasm.

"Oh really? Do it then," he said nonchalantly.

"Do what?"

"Paint the picture, take a snapshot with words," he mimicked, smiling as he pretended to hand paint in the air.

"Okay I will."

"Great. And then we will give my picture and your story to a few people and see what the consensus is. I'm a better photographer than you are writer. Loser buys dinner for the winner," he said standing very close to her. He was always so playful, standing close, touching her arm, her leg, her hair. But it came natural to him, almost as if he didn't mean to do it.

"Well, I don't know about the being better thing, but you got yourself a deal," she smiled shyly, whipping out her notebook and flipping it open so it purposely hit him in the face, "Give me a little space for my masterpiece."

"It's all yours," he said, stepping back and gesturing to the New York Skyline as he smiled and walked away. He had the coolest walk she had ever seen, if that was even possible.

...b...b...b...b...b...b...b...b.b.b...b...

It had been a few days since the tent encounter with Luke and it was all she could think about. Day, night, work, phone calls. She virtually cringed at every kiss Chris placed on her and she was beginning to think he noticed.

It wasn't depression, no-not that deep. Just sadness. Sad that she didn't end up with her soul mate. Sad she knew who he was. Maybe it would have been easier if she'd never known him. Sad that she was stuck in a predictable marriage.

It was a sunny day in Stars Hollow, blue skies and no clouds for miles. The town meeting was going to start in about an hour or so and Lorelai wanted to get there early to hang up flyers for a town event she was going to have at the Dragonfly. It was a first for the inn, having an open event for the town to come to. But, it was a nice gesture towards a town that had been so welcoming to the idea of her inn for the last few years. So, she was going to host a Memorial Day Picnic. Of course, Sookie had all these new recipes she wanted to try out, so it was perfect.

Lorelai crossed the town square, leisurely strolling with the poise she always had. She made her way to Miss Patty's, waving at a few neighbors as she walked by. Luke spotted her from the corner of his eye inside the diner. After watching her slip through the studio's door, he put down his notepad and pen.

"Caesar, I'll be back!"

He couldn't stop thinking about her. He darted across the street, looking around to make sure no one was watching him and slipped through the door, sliding it shut behind him.

Lorelai turned around, a little startled as she stopped midway from stapling up a flyer.

"Oh, hey," she said with a small, awkward smile, "What are you doing here?"

Luke walked over to her and stared her right in her eyes as she lowered her hands from the wall she was working on.

"Why did you come?" Luke asked sternly, with extreme seriousness on his face.

"What?" Lorelai asked shaking her head with a little laugh.

"Why did you come to my tent the other day Lorelai," Luke said still looking her straight in the eyes, "I mean you could have kept driving. You didn't have to stop and even if you did stop you didn't have to stay and play cards. Why did you?"

"I….I just wanted to talk to you alone, you know how it is here," she said nervously, fidgeting with her flyers to distract her.

"Well you have a phone right? Why didn't you just pick up and call me on the phone? Have a little chit chat, between two _friends_ right?" He said angrily.

"Luke…I was trying to be nice. I wanted to get away for a little bit from all the craziness and just talk…why are you so mad?" she asked timidly, widening her bright blue eyes.

"Because Lorelai!" he outburst, throwing his hands in the air. He lowered them down and rested one on his forehead in defeat, "Because you got to go home to your perfect house that _we_ rebuilt together and your perfect husband and perfect dog and I got to sleep alone all night staring at an empty pillow next to me that smelled like you."

She eased up her tense body, as she looked at him longingly. She was wearing a gorgeous teal sundress that hugged her body perfectly and her hair sat in loose curls below her shoulders.

"And you got mad when I told you how I felt. You left. You came to me Lorelai, you came to my tent."

"I know, I know…. you're right. I'm sorry," she said quietly, really not knowing what to say.

"I will always be looking at your pillow. There is no one else, and there's never going to be anyone else and…all I'm saying…is that you need to think about why you came to my tent."

She nodded at him. She already knew why she went to his tent. Because he was in there, alone, all sexy and Lukeish, and whether she let herself admit it or not, she loved him. So much. And she had no idea what she was doing.

They stared at each other for a few moments, passion pouring out of their hearts in silence.

"Oh, I'm sorry am I interrupting something?" Ms. Patty said quietly as she slid the door closed behind her, afraid to look at both of them.

"Um…no. Of course not we were just…catching up," Lorelai said breaking her gaze with Luke and moving away from his side of the room, to hang more flyers up. Luke remained still, staring at her every move as she nervously began stapling.

"Oh, okay dear, whatever," Ms. Patty said quickly hurrying over to the front of the meeting space so she could set up her papers.

Luke sighed another deep sigh. It seems like that's all he did lately. He decided to take a seat on the far side of the room, near the back. Perhaps a town meeting would make him stop thinking about Lorelai for a few seconds.

People began to slowly come in as Lorelai continued hanging up and handing out flyers, chatting it up with everyone as if everything were fine, when in fact, she felt like someone had punched her in the stomach a few times.

"Hey babe," she heard Christopher call as she reached up to staple her last flyer on the wall. By now the meeting was getting pretty packed and he waved to her as he found two empty seats.

"Oh, hey," she said forcibly, turning around to face him with a fake smile, "Got us the some good seats huh?" She walked over to him and placed a quick kiss on his cheek, her angle forcing her to look across the room at Luke, staring at her longingly. _I honestly don't think I could feel any worse than this._

"Of course," Chris said, moving his jacket so she could sit. She broke her gaze with Luke as she sat next to him, placing her extra flyers on the floor and crossing her legs. He carefully placed his arm around the back of her chair, leaning in to smell her hair and kiss her again on her neck, "I missed you today," he whispered in her ear.

"Oh…yeah?" she said plainly, flinching again at his touch. She hated this feeling.

"Yeah…I thought about you all day. You didn't miss me?" he asked, cheesing as he playfully nuzzled her hair.

"Yeah, I did," she said locking eyes with Luke again who was now blatantly staring, "Chris," she said pushing him away slowly until he sat upright again, "Not right now, we're at a town meeting." She smiled slightly of embarrassment as she put her head down, breaking her glance at Luke.

Christopher looked back and forth between the two of them. He noticed the staring. He noticed it all the time, but he never brought it up.

"Okay, I'm sorry," he said placing his hand in his lap, slyly reaching over to her lap and entangling his hand in hers, "I'll just have to be more slick about it." He knew he was showing off. But, part of him felt he had to whenever _that guy_ was within a 37-foot radius.

Lorelai smiled a fake smile once again and turned her attention to Taylor.

…..b…b…..b…..b

"Let me see it," Austin said trying to grab the piece of paper out of Rory's hand, as they walked down their most recent hotel's hallway, on their way to an event in their latest city of Scranton.

"No!" Rory said playfully, whisking the paper to the other side, out of Austin's reach. She was wearing a gray skirt the hugged her hips just right and a loosely hanging light pink top that accented her rosy cheeks. Austin walked very closely next to her as they made their way to the bus outside.

"You can't read it until the judges have spoken. I don't want you to give them any bad ideas," Rory said smiling as she walked up to a guy sitting on a bench outside the bus.

"Fine," Austin said, "Hey dude. Here it's all ready to go." He gestured to Rory's paper as she handed it to him.

"Thanks again for agreeing to judge our little contest here Mike," Rory said.

"Oh, it's no problem. I'm just happy to read about something that isn't the wonderful slanderous world of politics."

He studied the paper intently as Austin looked over at Rory, flashing his bright green eyes at her in suspicion. She couldn't help but smile back, ear-to-ear, completely incompetent when he looked at her like that.

"Well…." Austin said after a few minutes.

"It's…great. Stunning actually. I had no idea a person could turn such a still picture into an action shot. I'm sorry man but I'm going to have to go with Rory on this one," he said handing the paper back to her and getting up to walk on the bus, "See you inside."

Rory jumped up and down with her paper in front of her, smiling with excitement, "See. You aren't the only one with a talent around here."

"Okay, okay you're right. You win. I guess I owe you dinner tonight," Austin said playfully leaning in closer to her like he always did.

"I guess you do," she said nervously, not wanting to look him in the eyes.

"Be ready at 8:30. I'll knock on your room door to pick you up," he said tickling her side as he walked onto the bus. There he went, always touching her again.

She smiled a huge smile and walked on the bus.

….b…b…b…..b…..b…b

It had been a few days since Luke's ambush at the town meeting and still Lorelai couldn't stop thinking about what he said.

_There never will be anyone else Lorelai._

_Why did you come to my tent Lorelai?_

_I had to stare at a pillow that smelled like you Lorelai._

_Your perfect house and your perfect husband Lorelai. _

Ugh. She couldn't get him out of her head. And she already felt horrible about her encounter with him. She had cheated on her husband. She finally had one, and she cheated on him.

It was pretty early in the morning, around 6 a.m. as she walked down the street to Weston's. Summer was in the air and it was refreshing. She left early so she didn't have to deal with seeing Chris, waking up to him. Having him ask her numerous times to shower together and her saying no, not today.

She turned the corner to Weston's as her head turned in 1,000 different directions. The coffee was never the best there. The pastries were okay. It never really was the same. And without even thinking about it, she found her feet taking her to Luke's, standing in front of his door with the sign turned to 'closed'. She took a deep breath in and knocked lightly on the door.

She saw him standing behind the counter, fidgeting with the coffee machine in his normal flannel. As she knocked he turned around, capturing her gaze with his as she flashed him a cute smile.

"What are you doing here?" he asked surprisingly unlocking the door and opening it for her.

"Um, can I come in?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah…come on in," he said, closing the door and locking it behind her.

"Wow…it's been a while since I've been in the place," she said, looking around nervously, "Was it always this small?"

"What are you here for, Lorelai?" he said going back behind the counter and resuming his task of filling up the coffee maker.

"Well..um. I'm not sure actually," she said, slowly walking over to take her usual seat at the counter, trying to make eye contact with him. He kept his back faced towards her as he jammed the filter into the machine, frustrated at everything he was feeling.

"Coffee will be ready in a few minutes," he said coldly. He decided that being cold was the only way for his heart to stop hurting.

"Luke…" she trailed off, watching him pretend to keep busy as she lazily threw her purse in the counter in front of her.

He didn't respond as he took a cloth and furiously scrubbed on a non-existent spot on the back counter.

"Luke," she said, her voice pleading with hurt and pain. He could hear it in her voice, turning around to look her directly in the eyes. Those damn blue sky, slightly watery eyes.

"What Lorelai?"

"I have no idea why I'm here," she said simply.

"I know, you've already made that perfectly clear."

"No, Luke. I have _no_ idea why I'm here. My feet worked together with my heart and brought me here. My brain wasn't included in the decision," she said nervously, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she looked down at the counter, "What you said really meant a lot to me. A whole lot. More than you know."

He stood there, solemnly, on the opposite side of the counter as she stopped scrubbing and sighed, looking into her eyes.

"And…. I'm not happy Luke. Just like you staring at a pillow that smells like me, I feel like all I do is look at this person everyday, kiss this person everyday, smell this person everyday hoping, waiting, praying that somehow this person will turn into you."

The words tumbled out of her mouth without thought, almost as if his face was enough of a magnet to pull them out of her.

"I'm not happy," she repeated, almost as if it was the first time she allowed herself to hear it, "All I can think about is that night. I came to your tent because…. because I love you and that's never going to change."

She looked so vulnerable and small sitting in that bar stool, spilling her guts to him. He knew it wasn't easy. He knew it wasn't what she wanted to do. But he also knew exactly how she felt.

He walked around the side of the counter, his eyes locked with hers the entire time as came up to her side as she stared at him blankly. He placed his hand on the small of her back, leaning over to her ear and closing his eyes, taking in her scent.

"You know that I love you too. I love you so much. But you're married. And I refuse to be the man in the middle."

He put his head down, resting his forehead directly on her shoulder as he kept her hand on his back. She stared ahead of her, nodding in agreement, small tears already forming in her eyes.

"I don't want you to be the man in the middle. I want you to be the only man. You have always been the only man," she said moving her shoulder away from his head. As he fell forward a bit, she quickly ran her hands through his soft hair, knocking off his baseball cap in the process. He looked up at her and placed the softest kiss on her lips, closing his eyes to savor it even more. She did the same, holding her hand tight in his hair as he pulled away, matching forehead to forehead in one of the most intimate moments he's had in his life.

"Please, don't make me be the man in the middle," he pleaded, in almost a cry.

"I won't. I won't, I promise. I'm going to fix it all."

….b…..b…..b…..b…b…..


End file.
